The FastDay Forum

I am delighted to report big improvements in my health markers. Last year, on 23 July, I had my blood work done and it was horrible. I told my doctor I planned to lose 20 pounds. He said "25," so that became my new goal. After a month on Weight Watchers and only losing .6/lb (yes, you read that correctly-- 6/10's or 3/5's of a pound!), my sister told me about this new thing called the 5:2 diet. We both got MM's book and were off to the races.

It has been 12 months since my blood work was initially done and 11 months since I started fasting. Without further delay, here are my results:

July 23, 2013:

Glucose: 97 Today: 83 (-14)

Total cholesterol: 292 Today: 233 (-39)
LDL: 201 Today: 138 (-63)
HDL: 57 Today: 69 (+12)
Trigs: 172 Today: 136 (-36)
Ratio: 3.5 Today: 3.4 (-.1)

I have lost those 25 pounds, BTW. AND my health is improving signficantly. I bet in one year, my numbers will be close to normal.

I'm elated.

Yay Melinda and Congrats!

Hey Melinda, that's great - am so pleased for you!

So fabulous to have the double benefit of weightloss and health improvement! Xx

Congratulations Melinda and thanks for sharing. I must admit I don't understand the stats as have never had my bloods done. However I have lost 22lbs, 4lbs to target, so I'm hoping all is well.

@Melinda_in_NC. Elated you should be
they are great numbers
Every single one going in the right direction, you've done a great job in your 11 month journey be very proud
of yourself Melinda.

Congrats! Your Trig/HDL ratios reduces your risk for both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and insulin resistance. It also implies LDL particle size has increased - a good thing!

I'm another who doesn't know what exactly the numbers mean or what the 'norm' is, but it's obviously a huge improvement so well done

No wonder you're elated. I would be too. Congratulations on all the fasting that got you there and will get you to your best health.

Fantastic! Very well done, inspirational thread x

Those numbers look plenty normal to me right now. Congrats!

Hi everyone, 11 weeks after getting my blood work done, I just had it done again (for work health insurance purposes). I was STUNNED to discover that my results have continued to improve remarkably.

The following results are listed in this order: July 2013/July 2014/Sept 2014 and I have bolded the ones I think are particularly impressive:

Glucose: 97/ 83 / 72
Total cholesterol: 292/ 233/ 234
LDL: 201/ 138/ 138
HDL: 57 / 69 / 78
Trigs: 172/ 136 / 90
Ratio: 3.5/ 3.4 / 3.0

This absolutely blows me away, especially because these last 3 months I've only done a "regular" (24-hr) fast a couple of times. Instead, I have done daily 16- to 18-hr fasts and have been eating in 6 to 8-hr windows.

I also lost 3 more pounds and another inch around my waist.

I don't think these results could have been better if I had taken a pill. That's how much I credit the fasting.

HOWEVER: Due to stress reasons (I believe), my blood pressure isn't so great. I'm not sure if it's White-Coat Syndrome. I do have a home monitor and am going to start regularly testing myself at home. If it is elevated for real, does anyone have any tips?

Thanks you!

Wow! Fab results there girl, just brilliant. Blood pressure though ... Try some meditation?

@Melinda_in_NC
Another great set of numbers from you well done Melinda

[Debs]

Hey there Melissa, fantastic to see that your numbers are moving in the right direction, ours are shown slightly differently but I will post mine later as well.
Debs

Nice set of numbers. Well done!